Invisible hitchhikers may be lurking in your car

Your biggest threat behind the wheel could be toxins riding shotgun

By Michael Abrams
Jan 14, msn

"Oh great, my child's going to be a mutant," says Lou Terrier as the woman explains to him why she wants to look inside his car. Then Bobbi Chase Wilding slips into the passenger seat of Terrier's family wagon, takes a large gray gun from a shopping bag, removes a rectangular, metallic cap from the business end, aims it point-blank at the dashboard, and pulls the trigger.

Nothing happens. Or at least nothing Terrier can see. However, Wilding's weapon is working perfectly as she continues to zap the dash. The Innov-X XRF (for x-ray fluorescence) Analyzer identifies the chemical composition of materials, including the abundance of plastic and fabric, inside an automobile. A discerning eye like Wilding's can then determine that, say, chlorine in the glove-compartment door makes it a possible source of airborne toxins known as phthalates.

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photo : The 2007 Chevrolet Aveo is one of the worst-rated vehicles at healthycar.org. The rating is based on research conducted by the Ecology Center, a nonprofit environmental watchdog group, which looks for the presence of toxic chemicals in cars/photo source by AP